“Theo and I are going away for New Year’s. Up to the mountains.”
“But you hate skiing. I don’t understand why you’d take a vacation if you don’t love the destination. Relationships are about compromise.”
“I don’t mind it. It’s just not my favorite activity. Besides, Theo loves to ski. I’m happy being in the spa all day.”
“All right, dear. I have to go. I’m tired, and your father and I have a big day planned. We’ll talk soon. Love you.” Before Rennie could respond, her mother hung up.
Rennie sat back in her chair and swiveled to look out the window. She replayed her mother’s words in her mind. She couldn’t recall a time when her parents fought or even had a disagreement. To her, they were always even keeled and happy. Rennie wanted a relationship like her parents’.
Her intercom buzzed again, and she pressed the button so Ester could talk. “Just your friendly reminder about the staff meeting. Your lunch is in the conference room.”
“Thank you, Ester.”
Rennie gathered her binder, along with her notes on Grady’s case, and made her way down the hall to the conference room, which filled up quickly. She found an open seat, but before she sat down, she searched the various food items on the table, looking for her name. She grabbed her salad, went over to the drink cart, picked out a Sprite, and went back to her chair.
Unlike their quarterlies, where the discussions centered around money and bottom lines, this meeting was about their cases and who needed help with research, depositions, or investigations. If Lex Davey was anything, he was nosy. He wanted to know everything, give input on cases—as if he knew what he was talking about—and instruct the lawyers on how to settle or hit it out of the park for the big bucks. Unfortunately, the staff had no choice but to appease him, but at least he provided lunch once a week.
Rennie dug into her salad, trying to eat as much as she could before she had to talk. She tried to listen to her coworkers, to see if she could offer anyone help and to see who could help her with Grady’s case.
“Renee, you’re up. What do you have, and do you need any help?” Lex asked her.
She set her fork down and moved her salad away so she could flip through her notes and recount the controversial divorce case she had. “The Sotos have a mediation meeting after the first of the year. Mr. Soto has stalled on talks, which we are using to Mrs. Soto’s advantage. She wants to wrap this up because she has a contract she’s waiting to sign for another book series. I’ve also taken a pro bono case for a family I grew up with. Ester filed the contract today. An arrest and arraignment are imminent.”
“What’s the case? And since when do you practice criminal law?” Lex interrupted.
Rennie tried not to let his behavior get to her, but the man was rude. She cleared her throat and told the conference room about her weekend and what the charges would be against her new client. Rennie made eye contact with a few of her team members who specialized in criminal cases and hoped they’d volunteer some of their time. If not, she would beg.
“I don’t practice criminal law, but under the circumstances and knowing what the family wants for their son, I believe I can get my friend the help he needs.”
“I’m confused,” Lex huffed.
“What’s confusing? Surely I’m not the only lawyer in the firm to help out a friend or take a case as pro bono.” She stared down her boss. He side-eyed her, which Rennie didn’t like.
“Pass it off. Don’t waste company time on something like this.” Lex moved to the next partner, effectively shutting her down. He pissed her off, and she hated the way he spoke to her. Rennie had no intention of passing the case off to anyone. She would represent Grady because it was what she’d promised his family.
While she stewed over the way Lex treated her, she continued to pick at her salad. She took notes on a few of the cases her colleagues spoke about and intended to send them case files she had recently worked on, and she worked hard not to roll her eyes when Lex talked about how to practice law, spoke about ethics and the legal system. He knew nothing. As soon as Lex adjourned the meeting, Rennie gathered her things, steadied her salad on her binder, and walked back to her office.
“Renee, wait up.” She turned to find Jefferson Perkins coming toward her. He fell in step beside her.
“Hey, Jeff. What’s up?”
“Your pro bono, what’s up with it?” They entered her office, where she set her binder down but held her salad bowl in her hands. Jeff motioned for her to continue eating, and she did.
After she swallowed, she told him again the story of Grady but added the accident and the fifteen years of alcohol abuse.
“Do you have a strategy?” he asked her.
“I’m waiting for him to wake up. Once arrested, I’ll appear on his behalf and go from there.”
Jeff nodded. “At his arraignment, ask to skip the preliminary hearing. Tell the judge your client is entering rehab. That’ll give you at least ninety days to get the case in order and plead him out to misdemeanors.”
“Really?” Rennie asked, stunned. “Will that work?”
“He’s a first-time offender and is unlikely to face jail time if he’s in a treatment facility.”
“Thanks, Jefferson.”
“No problem. If you want me to sit second chair, let me know.”
Rennie thanked him again as he left her office. She felt reassured and confident, knowing she had cocounsel to assist her if need be. Ester stood in her doorway with a folder in her arm. Rennie had a new client waiting for her in the conference room.
“What do we know about Ms. Futter?” Rennie asked as she reached for the folder. Ester filled her boss in and followed her to the smaller, cozier meeting room. She shut the door behind them, pulled the blinds closed, and sat across from Rennie with her pen and notepad, ready to take notes.
“Hello, I’m Renee Wallace. You must be Ms. Futter?” She shook hands with the trembling woman.
“Yes, but can you call me Leah?”
Rennie nodded. “I know you’ve already spoken to my assistant, Ester, but I’d like for you to tell me what’s going on.”
“My husband and I recently separated. I was under the impression we were going to go to counseling to try and work things out, but I lost my job, and the same day, he served me with papers.” Leah Futter slid the trifold stack toward Rennie. She opened it and scanned the document.
“It says here he wants full custody of your children. How old are they?”
“Five and three.”
“Just babies,” she muttered. “Why did you and Mr. Futter separate?”
“He had an affair, and now he wants our children to live with his girlfriend.”
Rennie nodded. She loathed people like Mr. Futter and would love nothing more than to take him down a peg or two. “We can take your case, but I won’t be your acting counsel. I’m going to assign you to one of my staff members. They’ll keep me apprised through the process, and Ester will always be available to answer any questions you have.” She set her hand on top of Ms. Futter’s and squeezed it. She then looked at Ester and asked, “Can you see if Charlie or Barbara is available for a consult?” Ester nodded and exited the room.